A Stratified and Segmented Citizenry? Identification of Political Milieus and Conditions for their Communicative Integration

Koesters, Raphael und Jandura, Olaf (2019): A Stratified and Segmented Citizenry? Identification of Political Milieus and Conditions for their Communicative Integration. In: Javnost-the Public, Bd. 26, Nr. 1: S. 33-53

Abstract

Integration through public communication is challenged by the parallel tendencies toward the stratification and segmentation of the citizenry. The milieu concept takes up this notion: According to this meso-level approach, basic political orientations and political efficacy are aligned with specific information repertoires and modes of communication. Aggregations of individual data display group-specific patterns of heterogeneous political communication practices. First, this paper aims to characterise milieus within the German citizenry. Based on an online survey (n = 1488) and a hierarchical cluster analysis, we identified 12 distinct milieus. Second, we analyse the status of two citizen-level conditions of political integration. These include overlapping information repertoires and milieu-specific issue agendas. Overall, we argue for using social groups' lifeworld-specific contexts to explain patterns of political and communicative behaviour. Our typology serves as the basis for future projects on lifeworld-shaped political media use, the processing of media content, and its effects.

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultät: Sozialwissenschaften > Kommunikationswissenschaft
• Themengebiete: 000 Informatik, Informationswissenschaft, allgemeine Werke > 070 Publizistische Medien, Journalismus, Verlagswesen
• ISSN: 1318-3222
• Sprache: Englisch